Metro Washington Council afl-cio

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) yesterday joined the long list of members of Congress calling for a moratorium on reductions in postal service standards and the closure of mail processing plants. Four postal worker unions are rallying Friday morning outside the Postal Service’s DC headquarters in a national day of action to tell Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and the USPS Board of Governors“Stop delaying America’s mail!”

The USPS has announced plans to close or consolidate operations at 82 mail processing and distribution centers throughout the country in January. The unions warn that such a move would practically eliminate overnight mail delivery, even from one address to another within the same city or town. The severe cuts “would cause hardships for customers, drive away business, and cause incalculable harm” to the postal service, said NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “Support for our cause is growing,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The USPS Board of Governors can stop the cuts without an act of Congress. That’s what we will be demanding at 150 protests across the country.”